Description
1803 Capped Bust Right, Heraldic Reverse Eagles. Small Reverse Stars, BD-3, R.4, graded MS64+ by CACG.
This exquisite example ranks among the top surviving 1803 Eagles. The brilliant yellow surfaces are highly lustrous with trivial, inconsequential marks on each side. The strike is generally sharp and shows only slight weakness only on a few obverse stars on the left side and the right side of the shield. Wisps of coppery-rose toning adds to the eye appeal of this exceptional early ten dollar gold piece. Bass-Dannreuther BD-3 and Die State c/d with faint clash marks near Liberty’s ear from the horizontal shield lines of the reverse.
The total mintage of the various varieties of 1803 Eagles is 15,017 pieces, a relatively high figure within the series, but still much lower than the more available 1799 or 1801 issues. However, when located, the typical 1803 Eagle is only XF or AU, and strict Mint State pieces can be considered very scarce. For information, a single obverse die was paired with six different reverse dies to create the six known varieties of 1803 eagles, including four with small reverse stars and two with large reverse stars.
